Patna, Aug. 3: A primary health centre (PHC) that has been non-functional since 10 years suddenly found itself alive with even doctors posted there in health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey’s answer at the Assembly today.
However, the minister’s report was challenged by JD(U) MLA Shivji Rai who said the hospital in his constituency, East Champaran, has been defunct for a decade. “The minister’s statement is a bundle of lies,” Rai said.
Choubey argued that he had no option but to depend on the report sent by the officials. “If the officials are found to be giving me wrong information I will take action against them within 24 hours,” he said.
The minister lost his cool when BJP MLA Sanjay Sarogi recalled that Choubey had failed to take action against guilty officials when he raised the matter of illegal purchase in Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). “I do not know if you live in Darbhanga or London. I have taken action against the officials,” retorted the minister alleging that Sarogi was making false charges against him.
Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary directed Choubey to get Rai’s charges investigated and make a statement on Monday.
Choubey also told the House that efforts were on to get more seats approved in the MBBS course in the six government medical colleges.
He said the Medical Council of India had already increased the MBBS seats of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital from 50 to 100. “We are trying to get 50 more seats for Patna Medical College and Hospital, 60 for DMCH and 50 in medical colleges in Gaya, Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur,” he replied to a question asked by JD(U) MLA Giridhari Yadav. Power minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said the government had not received any response to the letter on a nuclear power plant in Nawada district.
In the Legislative Council today, education minister P.K. Shahi said that the central government had given permission to open “model schools” in 368 educationally backward blocks of the state.
Replying to JD(U) member Vinod Kumar Singh’s query for opening model schools, the minister said that of 530 educationally backward blocks, the Centre approved 105 model schools in 2009-10 and 263 in 2010-11. Shahi admitted that the Centre had approved opening of 6,000 model schools in the 12th plan period and of this 2,500 schools have to be opened under public-private partnership.
The government would request the Union government to upgrade Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls’ School up to Class XII in order to provide boarding facilities to girl students belonging to backward class, minorities and deprived sections, Shahi said.
On CPM member Basudeo Singh’s question on the deadline to fulfil vacancies in project girls’ schools, Shahi said the recruitment process for teaching posts would be completed by December for the candidates who had cleared the Teachers’ Eligibility Test and Secondary Teachers’ Eligibility Test.
